In June 2025, the 3rd "Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area World History Scholars Forum" was successfully held at South China Normal University. Over 100 scholars participated in the event, representing prestigious universities and leading academic journals both domestically and internationally, includingscholars of Institute of European Civilization,Tianjin Normal University.
Professor Hou Jianxin, Dean of IEC, delivered an opening ceremony address and presented a keynote report titled "Income and Expenditure of Medieval English Kings". Focusing on the land property of the England Kings in the Middle Ages, Professor Hou examined the land relationships and their implications among kings, vassals, and tenant farmers. He indicated that feudal contractual relations in England not only maintained a hierarchical society and defended the authority of the king as the supreme ruler, it also limited feudal dependence to make the vassals are granted limited yet inalienable rights.Itprovided an important prerequisite for establishing the parliamentary system in the Middle Ages and the modern land property system. By the 17th century, the fundamental transformation in the nature of the king’sland property of intertwined with shifts inEngland's political landscape.
Professor Liu Jinghua delivered a keynote speech titled "Reflections on Civilization Formation". Prof.Liu explored the meaning and defining characteristics of "civilization", asserting that the emergence of civilization is deeply linked to the increasing complexity of social organizations, with all hallmarks of civilization being products of this organizational sophistication. He examined the original river valley cradles of civilization, explaining why civilizations arose in agricultural rather than nomadic regions. He further analyzed the natural conditions enabling civilization formation and the distinctive features—including subsistence strategies, regional temperaments, and cultural outlooks—that emerged undervariousgeographical circumstances.
Cao Fangzhou, a graduate student ofIEC, pointed out in his report "Capital Expansion and Investment of English Local Banks" that the Industrial Revolution promoted the explosive growth of English local banks. Wang Zihan,another graduate student of IEC,explained in his report that the utopian social reform thought of John Bellers, a British Quaker in the late 17th century, was the product of the interaction between Quaker religious ethics and the mercantilist economic environment.
